Thanks: The Heart Project and GMH for help given to local heart patients

Patients requiring cardiac surgery usually have to travel off island for their treatment and follow-up care. This can be extremely expensive because beyond the cost of the hospital stay and other medical costs, patients have to pay for travel and accommodations -- and usually not for just themselves, but for their loved ones who accompany them.

Since 2005, a group of doctors and nurses from California have eased that burden for 77 patients and their families by performing open-heart surgeries here in Guam. The team is back again now for a week and has scheduled 10 patients for open-heart surgery during its visit.

The importance of these visits was emphasized by Lee Webber, the chairman of Guam Memorial Hospital's Board of Trustees: "I can't thank you enough for being here. You keep people alive."

Dr. Noel Concepcion, who's originally from Guam, is behind the Heart Project, which consists of three surgeons, a heart-lung machine operator, an anesthesiologist and seven nurses.

Patients first must go through a rigorous screening process to determine if they can be treated by the visiting team, including a referral from their primary physician. That's followed up by consultations in the time before the team's arrival.

The expenses of the team -- including airfare and the cost to ship the needed equipment to the island -- are covered by Guam Memorial Hospital. And while these costs aren't cheap, they do end up saving heart patients and their families a lot more money, while also making surgery and treatment much more convenient.

On behalf of the community, we thank and commend Dr. Concepcion and the entire Heart Project team for their dedication to the island's heart patients. While they can't treat all the local patients who need heart surgery, we are grateful for the lives they save and the families they help.

We also commend Guam Memorial Hospital for its support of the Heart Project and for paying for its expenses, and hope to see a continued commitment to this endeavor.